Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was taken off the air “indefinitely” Wednesday following remarks he made on Monday night about the shooting death of Charlie Kirk.
During Monday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host spoke about Kirk, who was shot and killed last week while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving,” Kimmel said in his monologue Monday.
“On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this.”
Kimmel, 57, then cut to a clip, showing U.S. President Donald Trump taking questions from reporters after the shooting. One of the reporters offered their condolences for the death of Trump’s “friend” Kirk.
When Trump was asked how he was holding up, he said, “I think very good, and by the way, right there where you see all the trucks, they just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House.”
Trump went on to discuss the plans for the White House ballroom and said the results will “be a beauty.”
When the camera cut back to Kimmel, he said, “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction.”
“Demolition, construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend,” Kimmel said. “This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?”
Kimmel claimed that Trump’s comments “didn’t just happen once” and shared a clip from Trump’s appearance on Fox & Friends from Sept. 12, when he spoke about what he was doing when he first heard of Kirk’s death.
“When I heard it, I was in the midst of, you know, building a great — for 150 years they’ve wanted a ballroom at the White House, right? They don’t have a ballroom. They have to use tents on the lawn for President Xi when he comes over. If it rains, it’s a wipeout,” Trump said during his appearance.
Trump said he was with the architects planning the design for the ballroom when someone told him Kirk was dead.
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“And then we installed the most beautiful chandelier,” Kimmel told his audience. “Sconces you wouldn’t believe.
“There’s something wrong with him, there really is. Who thinks like that? Why are we building a $200-million ballroom in the White House? Is it possible he’s doing it intentionally so we can be mad about that instead of the Epstein list? By the time he’s out of office, the White House will have slot machines and a water slide.”
ABC, which has aired Kimmel’s late-night show since 2003, moved swiftly after Nexstar Communications Group said it would pull the show starting Wednesday following Kimmel’s comments.
Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s death “are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division. Nexstar operates 23 ABC affiliates.
Earlier in the day, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s comments “truly sick” and said his agency has a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation.
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” Carr said on The Benny Show, a podcast hosted by Benny Johnson. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
The 57-year-old comedian has not released a statement following ABC’s decision to pull his show but many others, including the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have spoken out against the move.
“SAG-AFTRA condemns the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!” SAG-AFTRA’s statement read.
“Our society depends on freedom of expression. Suppression of free speech and retaliation for speaking out on significant issues of public concern run counter to the fundamental rights we all rely on. Democracy thrives when diverse points of view are expressed.
“The decision to suspend airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! is the type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone’s freedoms. SAG-AFTRA stands with all media artists and defends their right to express their diverse points of view, and everyone’s right to hear them.”
Democratic leaders in the U.S. House on Thursday called on Carr to resign after he pressured Walt Disney and ABC affiliates to stop airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Kimmel’s comments about Kirk.
Jeffries and other leaders said Carr has “disgraced the office he holds by bullying ABC, the employer of Jimmy Kimmel, and forcing the company to bend the knee to the Trump administration.”
“Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s war on the First Amendment is blatantly inconsistent with American values. Media companies, such as the one that suspended Mr. Kimmel, have a lot to explain,” Jeffries wrote. “The censoring of artists and cancellation of shows is an act of cowardice. It may also be part of a corrupt pay-to-play scheme.
“House Democrats will make sure the American people learn the truth, even if that requires the relentless unleashing of congressional subpoena power. This will not be forgotten.”
On Wednesday, Trump applauded ABC’s decision to pull Kimmel’s show, writing, “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.”
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible,” he wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. “That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT”
Trump also spoke about Kimmel during a press conference on Thursday with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, Starmer’s country house in the English town of Aylesbury.
When asked about the dismissal of Kimmel and free speech in America, Trump said, “Well, Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else.”
“He said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk. And Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. He had very bad ratings and they should have fired him a long time ago,” Trump continued. “So, you know, you can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent.”
Carr also said he agreed with the decision, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he was “very glad to see that America’s broadcasters are standing up to serve the interests of their community.”
“We don’t just have this progressive foie gras coming out from New York and Hollywood,” he added.
— with files from The Associated Press and Reuters
